“Four days before the race, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said they were still having the marathon,” said Elias, 40. “Two days before the race, on Nov. 2, I flew to New York.”

Elias’ plane had barely landed when she began receiving some strange messages from people back home.

“I got there and walked over to the (pre-marathon) expo to pick up my packet and bib (race) number,” she said. “I was walking back to my hotel room when I started getting messages like, ‘Oh, no, so sorry,’ from friends on Facebook. I thought, ‘What is going on?’ When I turned on the TV, I saw that the New York Marathon was canceled.”

Her emotions were mixed.

“There was disappointment, but there was some relief, too,” Elias said. “It had been so contentious, so many people were not very happy with the decision to have the race, for marathoners to be taking hotel rooms that others needed.”

On Nov. 4 — what was to have been race day — Elias and her two running buddies flew home.

It all felt so … unfinished.

“During training, I was pretty emotional when I finished my 20-miler, my longest run,” Elias said. “But that was it. I never got past that.”

It was different from the usual post-marathon blues.

“It’s a known thing that when you do a big event, you go through what feels like the post-Christmas blues. After any big thing is over, you get down,” Elias said. “Normally, you can tell yourself, ‘Yeah, but I did this. I completed a marathon.’ So it was a double whammy: the disappointment over not having anything to train for anymore and not having the victory of crossing the finish line.”

Still, it was just a bump in the road compared to the rest of Elias’ journey. At 17, she was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Treatment put her in remission, and she was in good health for more than 20 years. But, in 2012, Elias discovered a lump in her arm and, later, another lump in her breast. Both were malignant.

It was during her treatment for breast cancer that Elias, a runner since high school, received some good news: She had landed a spot in the 2012 ING New York City Marathon after trying to secure a place since 2010.

She decided to go for it, and the training proved therapeutic.

“Training was a way to get through treatment,” Elias said. “It was a way to still feel like myself.”

Elias might run the 2013 marathon. Since the 2012 race was canceled, she is eligible to run in New York in November. For now, though, Elias has set a new course for herself.

“I found another marathon that is not just another marathon,” Elias said. “It’s got a lot of meaning for me personally, as a cancer survivor.”

The Million Dollar Marathon, to begin June 21, is a unique race, organized by Above + Beyond Cancer, an Iowa-based charity.

“The 160 runners who sign up are cancer survivors, caregivers or advocates,” said Elias. “It’s a relay — a 4,000-mile relay across America, from the Pacific to the Atlantic — but everyone who runs completes a marathon.”

Elias will be one of those runners. She hopes to raise $7,500 in pledges, which will go toward cancer research and advocacy.

Participants also will take part in cancer advocacy activities, including a trip to Washington, D.C.

Elias knows this summer’s finish line will be significant. But every mile of training is important, too. Maybe even more important. “Through all of this, I’ve learned that it’s not so much about me crossing a finishing line,” she said. “It’s the fact that I started.”

After training for the 2012 ING New York City marathon while enduring cancer treatment, Cyndi Elias of St. Paul was disappointed when Hurricane Sandy shut down the race last November. Seven months later, she plans to cross a finish line — and fight cancer at the same time. Follow and support Elias as she trains for the Million Dollar Marathon at http://coasttocoastforcancer.org/cyndi/ or donate to her cause.

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